Some of you may have heard from the last Facebook f8 developer conference back in September that the social network was about to release a major profile revamp - the new Facebook profile called "Facebook Timeline".

It was originally supposed to be released to all users on October 1st but after some legal issues due to the product name, Facebook had to delay this launch.

I don't know you - some of you probably did as well - but I've switched to the beta version of Timeline a couple months ago the day after the f8 conference and I really, really love Facebook Timeline. It's a complete new rethinking of the Facebook profile altogether, much more than just a design change. As Zuckerberg himself said, this is a whole new "Facebook experience" - but beware, your privacy settings can also be automatically changed to "default", so if you, like me, are using Facebook with highly customized privacy settings (e.g max control over who sees what and who does not), you'll need to take the time to go through your privacy settings again to make sure it's all like you want it to be.

Facebook is finally releasing Timeline, they started yesterday in New Zealand and in the past couple hours, users worldwide start reporting their profile switched to Timeline as well.
It's coming anyway within the next days, so if you haven't prepared yet, here is some quick reading and great tips that can be usful for the switch

... but beware, your privacy setteings will also be automatically changed to "default", so if you, like me, are using Facebook with highly customized privacy settings ... you'll need to take the time to go through your privacy settings again ...

Nope. I'm afraid that anything with "you'll need to take the time to..." as a prerequisite is a big turnoff for me. I won't be looking into this any time soon.

[Edited at 2011-12-08 10:50 GMT]

I might be interested if they made it the other way round - i.e. if the app/program came with TOTAL PRIVACY as default setting, which the user could then decide to liberate or open up in stages as they see fit, rather than the the other way round, which is where you can see their real intentions.

[Edited at 2011-12-08 10:53 GMT]

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Well I hear you, but Facebook is not exactly asking its users for their opinion - it's happening anyway - maybe you are already using your Facebook profile for business and therefore already have a neat business/ private seperation, or maybe you have a Facebook page for business - in both cases you won't need to worry about privacy settings.

But if you have a regular profile on Facebook and have business contacts (colleagues, etc.) as "Facebook Friends", maybe you don't want to show them the last pictures of your family barbecue (and they don't want to see them either probably), in which case (re)adjusting your privacy settings might be a good idea as they may by default change the minute your Profile automatically switches to the new Timeline.

I'm just saying... It all depends on the use you do on Facebook, but I know that there are things in my profile I don't want potential clients to see because 1. it's none of their business and 2. I want to keep the private stuff private (for privacy reasons and for "marketing" reasons)

Cheers!
Anne

[Edited at 2011-12-08 10:59 GMT]

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Why would they? They owe us nothing, we are not paying to use Facebook. If Facebook had asked for its user opinions before making any changes, it would be still some ugly retarded website with a terrible design and everybody would whine that it sucks.

I'm really not seeing your point - how the fact that it may be a good idea for your professional image to pay attention to your privacy settings on Facebook makes Facebook a big dirty mean bully that twists your arm? You can do what you want on Facebook, put the info you want, the photos you want and all. Its not Facebook's fault if a potential client can see a photo of you drunk at a wedding. It's yours, because you did not take the time to work on your privacy settings.

When I read colleagues writing in forums that facebook is useless, well I want to say "You just don't get it". Facebook is one of our best friends as translators in terms of marketing, but you have to know how to use it, and that starts with taking the time to...

Cheers!
Anne

[Edited at 2011-12-08 13:18 GMT]

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If you are using Facebook just for personal goals, that is connecting with your real-life close friends only and family that you don't get to see often, and if you have absolutely zero business contact in your "Friends", then that whole discussion is pointless as it does not apply.

I'm really talking here about those (including me) who actually have both kind of contacts on Facebook: close friends and less close friends, and business contacts, and who want (need...) to pay close attention to who sees what because what is private should remain private and one needs to be careful about the image they give to business contacts.

Business / private separation is key...

Cheers!
Anne

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When I read colleagues writing in forums that facebook is useless, well I want to say "You just don't get it". Facebook is one of our best friends as translators in terms of marketing, but you have to know how to use it, and that starts with taking the time to...

While not exactly an expert on FB marketing, I bet there are more efficient marketing strategies than those relying on FB, and if I spend my time on those, I will most probably get much better results.

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You are right, a marketing strategy in translation should not rely on Facebook only - and on Social Media in general.
There is not a single Social Media Marketing training or coaching session that I start without emphasizing right away that Social Media is just an additional marketing tool. A powerful one, but it should never replace all the existing tools. It's just another tool.

I also say to students that just because things exist, they don't have to use them all - it is impossible for a freelance translator time-wise to invest so heavily by maintaining a presence on all possible existing networks. Besides, many are not relevant for our industry in terms of marketing,

Nonetheless, I consider Twitter, Google+ and Facebook very important and very powerful additional marketing tools (not to mention LinkedIn, but LinkedIn is a business network and I'm talking here about social networks).

Those 3 alone combined is a hell lot of work for a freelancer, but the results are there - I obtained really amazing results for some of my clients (not in the translation industry) with just a combination of Twitter and Facebook alone.

[Edited at 2011-12-08 14:20 GMT]

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I'm really not seeing your point - how the fact that it may be a good idea for your professional image to pay attention to your privacy settings on Facebook makes Facebook a big dirty mean bully that twists your arm? You can do what you want on Facebook, put the info you want, the photos you want and all. Its not Facebook's fault if a potential client can see a photo of you drunk at a wedding. It's yours, because you did not take the time to work on your privacy settings.

Really?
I find this a bit arrogant, especially in light of your initial posting, where you said:

but beware, your privacy settings can also be automatically changed to "default", so if you, like me, are using Facebook with highly customized privacy settings (e.g max control over who sees what and who does not), you'll need to take the time to go through your privacy settings again to make sure it's all like you want it to be.

I find it quite unacceptable if they ignore the privacy settings one already made, and change it back to the default at their own will. If this is true, it does not speak high of them, and of their regard for personal information.

This is what I (and probably neilmac, too) find rather offensive.
But maybe I "just don't get it".
Do you?

Katalin

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As to my initial posting, I did not say "will" but "can". Some users reported that their cutomized privacy settings were affected by the switch. I did not have the problem, but some did.

That was probably a bug and yes, Facebook did not communicate and yes, Facebook is not always a model role in transparency - I agree and did not question that. And I also agree with your point that if they would automatically and willingly restore all our settings to default, this would be wrong, no questioning that either - but that's not the case. There was a bug, and I trust that it is solved now since Facebook is releasing Timeline to all, but since there was no communication from Facebook on that,to be on the safe side and as the saying goes: "Trust but verify".

My intention in opening this topic was not to debate the good or the bad of Facebook, so my apologies for not making it clearer and stepping in the debate myself. This is another debate. I just wanted to share an information that I feel is important to those of us using Facebook (privately and / or for business). I'm sorry if that seemed arrogant.

Fact 1: Timeline is coming and our profiles will automatically switch.
Fact 2: Some users have reported in the past that the switch have affected their settings.

Guess: The bug affecting privacy settings may probably be fixed, otherwise they would not release Timeline.

Tip: you may want to check nonetheless your settings after the switch to make sure your custom settings were not affected, and to correct them if they were.

On this note, I wish you all a great day / afternoon, and see you around,
Cheers,
Anne

[Edited at 2011-12-08 15:46 GMT]

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Lutz MolderingsGermany Local time: 16:32Member (2007) German to English + ...

Facebook...

Dec 8, 2011

"Have you ever noticed that idiots have a lot of friends? It’s just an observation."

I am the Messenger, Markus Zusak

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Why would they? They owe us nothing, we are not paying to use Facebook. If Facebook had asked for its user opinions before making any changes, it would be still some ugly retarded website with a terrible design and everybody would whine that it sucks.

The reason why they should (as opposed to “would”) is precisely how Facebook is supposed to be used for marketing purposes. For a platform where “being genuine” is perceived to be one of the most important things (if not the most important), it is ironic that the creator of that platform shows not only a lack of genuineness, but also a complete absence of respect.

I also don’t agree that the current Facebook is “designed”. Back when I first signed up, design was evident, in the sense that there was a compelling model, and user expectations were taken into account (which, IMHO was in some sense the true reason why it took off). In other words, they thought about what the problem was, what constraints there were, and how the problem should be solved—this is what design is. Right now, seeing that things are really going off in random directions without regard to any user input or any sort of perceivable logic, there really is nothing that can be called design to speak of, and the only thing that is keeping it afloat is, IMHO, its sheer market share and nothing else.

(BTW, I actually had the opportunity to talk to someone in Facebook two months ago in a conference. Apparently, they are not even aware that they have left no channel for user feedback (including a complete lack of a channel for bug reports); they actually thought they were taking user feedback seriously…)

[Edited at 2011-12-09 01:12 GMT]

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Anne Diamantidis wrote:
Why would they? They owe us nothing, we are not paying to use Facebook.
Anne

[Edited at 2011-12-08 13:18 GMT]

No, but still, "they" make a lot of money, just because we use it.

Anne Diamantidis wrote:
If Facebook had asked for its user opinions before making any changes, it would be still some ugly retarded website with a terrible design and everybody would whine that it sucks.
Anne

[Edited at 2011-12-08 13:18 GMT]

I actually like it. The new design looks horrible to me (too dazzling). I think I will close my account if this new "face" is really coming.

I use FB for social and (to a lesser extent) business purposes, but I'm trying to limit my time spent there as much as possible, because I have to do my work (to be able to pay my bills). And FB is mainly a time thief.

[Edited at 2011-12-09 02:02 GMT]

[Edited at 2011-12-09 02:04 GMT]

[Edited at 2011-12-09 10:34 GMT]

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Katalin Horvath McClure wrote:
I find it quite unacceptable if they ignore the privacy settings one already made, and change it back to the default at their own will. If this is true, it does not speak high of them, and of their regard for personal information.

This is what I (and probably neilmac, too) find rather offensive.
But maybe I "just don't get it".
Do you?

Yes. In Spanish it's called "trágala" (like it or lump it) and an attitude up with which I shall not put, thanks very much. It's just my opinion.

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